JUST BARK BACK

The following appeared on Boston.com (from Boston Globe):
Headline: Barking back at neighborhood dog noise
Date: Nov 4, 2010

"DEAR BENNY: What can be done about dogs that bark all the time? I live in a gated development in a homeowners association. The board says they cannot do anything about it, but I don't see how that is possible. What is the board for? --Bill"
________________________________________________

DEAR BILL: Good question about what the purpose of a board of directors is. Legally, they are the equivalent of the executive branch of any government. Their function is to manage, operate and enforce the legal documents of your association.

Unfortunately, there are some board members who seem to serve only so they can be called "Mr. (or Madam) president." It's an ego trip for them.

Now, before I get hundreds of nasty e-mails complaining about that last statement, I have to say that from my experience the vast majority of board members are honest, hard-working and dedicated to preserving the quality of life in their community.

But community associations can be big business; often, the budget of a condo or an HOA is larger than many commercial establishments. So board members often find themselves not capable of handling the affairs of their association.

I am confident that your legal documents prohibit excessive noise and nuisances. How do you prove that the barking dogs are violating the noise and nuisance requirements of your association?

To see more, click on the link below or copy and paste it into a Web browser:
http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2010/11/02/barking_back_at_neighborhood_dog_noise/?s_campaign=8315

1-800-DOG-POOP

I got the HOA newsletter and as I was tossing it into the recycling bin, I caught the paragraph on the last page about curbing your dog and bringing water along. First, how nice of the HOA to be concerned about my dog being thirsty, thanks. Second, I decided to have a talk with my dog after reading that little blurb.

I said, "Look, we should be more civilized than to stoop in the grass and well, you know. I realize there are sidewalks on both sides of the street, but you need to walk in the road now. You don't see the HOA pooping on the grass, they know better. And by the way, why do I have to clean up after you - you ought to be cleaning up after yourself."

Today, I found the solution. I was driving on 41 and pulled up to a car at a traffic light. I looked over and saw printed across the side of the car CALL 1-800-DOG-POOP for professional pet waste management. How clever. For $10 per service, they come to your yard and clean up dog doody, or should I say residue. I know good fertilizer when I smell it, and if you leave it on your grass for about a week, the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium should get that St. Augustine putting out some pretty good crawlers. Then once a week, 1-800-DOG-POOP and their trained technicians come by and do the dirty work for you. Don't forget though, try to coordinate that with your lawn service.

An Outside Point of View

This editorial was submitted by FortBendNow.com reader Nancy Hentschel.

Home Owner Association (HOA) and Property Owner Association (POA) living is advertised to promote sales and to manage the homeowner population, but these “corporations” are specifically designed to disenfranchise most if not all the homeowners in the subdivision.

The HOA corporation is frequently controlled by the developers, builders, or even the vendors of the HOA corporation, such as the HOA management company and HOA attorneys. These entities seek legislation to give the HOA board (and therefore its agents) ever more control over the property belonging to the homeowners.

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Thank you Mrs and Mr Hotz

Submitted by a resident:

Just a note of thanks to Mrs and Mr Hotz for their selfless dedication to Venetia. We’re so fortunate in Venetia … we get a twofer … Mrs Hotz is the President of the entire Association and Mr Hotz is subservient to her as the President of the single family homes association and he leads the Architectural Review Committee. We save so much time and bureaucratic rigamarole placing all that accountability in a wife-husband team! It’s like the bucket-full of money busy-bee volunteers have saved in erecting new security gates – but much, much more. Not that they’re anything alike – but remember when Evita and Juan Peron ran Argentina together – think off all red tape they must have cut through on behalf of the Argentines. Who needs countervailing views of unattached parties when making decisions affecting others? What a waste of time and energy having different, uninvolved people managing Venetia -- when a married couple, wife and man, can do it together! Sort of feels like I’m part of a “Family” … makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Specifically, let’s recognize Mrs Hotz for the way she managed Washingtonian Palms removal (she signed the contract with Mizel.) That was, and continues to be, just one of many ringing successes – take a look at the Woodmere entrance and the sparse young palms on the ersatz bluff. Compare that picture with the tall and lush stand of mature Washingtonian Palms that once graced, but were removed, from that precipice. At least now, Mr Hotz doesn’t have to run off pesky brides who want wedding pictures taken there. Who wants young brides and grooms in white gowns and tuxedos from who-knows-where invading “Our Very Own Piece of Paradise” as Mr Hotz puts it on his Venetia Neighborhood One website (brought to you by Lakeside Studios – owned and operated by Mr Hotz).

We also need to thank Mr Hotz in his two (VNA One – ARC) hats for identifying and pursuing “Hawthorne Bush Weed Removal” violations. What could be more important than removing errant weeds from hawthorns around the oak trees? For example – take a short drive on Corso Venetia Boulevard - I call it the “Boulevard of Dreams” -- sort of fits in with Mr Hotz’s “… Piece of Paradise” theme. The house at 4315, abandoned for over two years now -- rundown, overtaken by weeds and overgrown is an eyesore as well as a drag on nearby property values. In my opinion; proactive care of abandoned homes in “Our Very Own Piece of Paradise” isn’t worth the weighty attention of Mrs and Mr Hotz when compared to the devastating effect of a takeover by weeds in the hawthorn bushes. Their ability to prioritize and focus on the things that matter most … maintaining and increasing our property values -- is but one of the many, many strengths Mrs and Mr Hotz graciously lend to Venetia. May they, together, administer Venetia in good health for decades to come.

In closing; thank you Mrs and Mr Hotz for everything you do for us – the members of the “Family” that live in “Our Very Own Piece of Paradise.”

Carlos Piad

Untergebener Autoritätsnachricht

How does it feel to live in a Stalag? Ok, ok ... its not a POW camp and we are free to sell and get out of here. (Which I am planning to do ... and I cannot wait to be out from under Mr. and Mrs Hotz BTW).

A prison camp, among other similarly egregious aspects, is a place where you have virtually no rights ... and the power of the keepers to control you is essentially, boundless.

Having received the latest Untergebener Autoritätsnachricht (unsigned Lighthouse memorandum dated June 30, 2010) it appears Party Headquarters decided they could make significant and material changes to the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations." Said changes specifically involving house painting and contractor hours; however other implicit requirements appear here and there in the text of the June 30, 2010 memorandum.

Has anyone ever seen the document noted in the memorandum - where is the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations" kept and made available for review by unit/lot owners? Has the aforementioned document been duly processed by the proscriptions contained in the By Laws and the Covenants and have these "guidelines, rules and regulations," been incorporated thereto? I was never asked to review the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations." I don't recall signing anything, ever, noting that I was required to adhere to the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations," or ceding unbounded extra-covenant and beyond By Law authority to Norman Hotz and his committee or committees.

By what bi-lateral agreement or contract does the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations," carry the weight of Venetia Community Association (VCA) or VNA-One enforcement and fining authority? Are there other similar documents requiring unlimited extent performance by unit owners? What are the bounds of the authority vested in the officers of VCA or VNA-One and those committees themselves and are they all acting within those bounds?

Was the process used to construct, review and approve the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations," conducted in the "sunshine." Was a memorandum of record issued, or series of memoranda prepared, to document the building of these guidelines, rules and regulations? Why were these guidelines, rules and regulations not incorporated in the recent re-issue of the Covenants? Has the Association attorney conducted a review and provided counsel on the authority to issue the "Venetia Neighborhood One, Inc. guidelines, rules and regulations" and to make changes to said document or compilation of documents.

How much longer and how much more do we have to put up with from the same clowns?

C. Piad

BEFORE


NOW


Thanks HOA!!

DOUBLES

We're being double gated in. Now if you are having a problem navigating the new double barrier or lose your number, call Dennis Smith for the correct code. He can be reached at 941-474-5300 between 8:00 and 4:30 - otherwise call the HOA at 914-408-7923 when you are locked out and need to get home.


Wow man, I'm impressed. That's a big uhhhh, pipe.



Where should we put it now?



Uh, is this what I retired for?


Someone get the instructions!


We need more cones over here!

The Original HOA

Our Land?

BUFFOON

According to one online directory, a buffoon is also considered a fool, idiot, dolt, dunce, dunderhead, dullard, ignoramus, dummy, simpleton, jackass; informal chump, blockhead, jughead, boob, bozo, doofus, nincompoop, numbskull, numbnuts, dope, twit, nitwit, halfwit, birdbrain. See also ass.

An elderly couple in our neighborhood were forced to sell their home because of illness and move into an apartment with assisted living. They could not take all of their belongings into smaller square footage and were forced to sell some of their beloved possessions. With the help of their realtor and a nod from the management company, a three hour sale was to be held from inside their home on one recent morning.

This is where things get sticky and my use of buffoon enters the picture. With arms flailing upward toward the sky, the president of the master board of this gated community ranted and raved about the audacity of this couple having an indoor sale without her permission. But it gets better. The president of the single family homes (spouse of the aforementioned) enters the house, screaming and yelling for everyone to GET OUT. He boomed loudly at the woman holding the sale that she didn't have his permission, forcing her to back away and frightening her into ending the sale. At this point he ran to the gates and had them closed, fearing that the riffraff from other neighborhoods might try to come in for the Estate Sale.

Many neighbors were mortified that this happened within their own community and felt it necessary to apologize for the board out of embarrassment.

Once again, the word is spelled B U F F O O N.

Sound familiar?